New study reveals the workplace jargon and LinkedIn content that make employees roll their eyes
Australians are calling time on corporate buzzwords, with a new study suggesting that some of the commonly heard phrases at work are becoming cultural icks for employees.
Business services provider Honcho.com.au analysed Reddit discussions to find the most hated workplace phrases and LinkedIn "icks."
Topping the list of verbal offenders was "circle back," according to Honcho.
"Circle back" is a phrase often used in the workplace that means to revisit or discuss something later, according to Orate AI.
But distaste towards the expression is not new, with employees calling for the end of this phrase for many years now. Ladders, an online career site, previously noted that this could be rooted in how employees associate the phrase with a lack of immediacy in problem-solving.
Other commonly hated workplace jargon among Australians includes:
- Please advise
- Synergy
- Subject matter expert
- Cadence
- Family
- Double click
- Touch base
- Thought leader
- Bandwidth
- Out of pocket
Miralda Ishkhanian, chief operating officer at Honcho, attributed employees' dislike for corporate jargon to its lack of conveyed honesty.
"Workplace language is meant to connect people, but it can often create a barrier, swapping authentic meaning with fancy-sounding jargon. This study shows Australians are craving more honesty and less buzz," Ishkhanian said.
Reports that employees want this type of communication to end in the workplace have been circulating for years now, with studies overseas pointing out that business jargon can often lead to miscommunication at work.
Data from KickResume last year revealed that small companies with roughly 100 employees could be losing US$546,000 annually due to miscommunication as a result of office jargon. Bigger firms with about 1,000 employees also risk losing US$6 million annually due to miscommunication.
LinkedIn icks
Meanwhile, Honcho's study also took aim at online behaviour, finding that office workers are just as weary of what they see when they log into LinkedIn.
"Humblebrags" topped the list of LinkedIn icks, followed by "hustle and grindset" posts, dramatic life-lesson threads, leadership clichés, and emotional stories that users felt rang false.
Humblebrag posts refer to "carefully worded" content on LinkedIn that is meant to flex achievements while disguising them as gratitude posts, according to Christopher Young, a strategic advisor in the platform.
"These posts often hit the engagement jackpot, which is exactly why they keep happening. But they also slowly chip away at the kind of trust, value, and authenticity LinkedIn could be known for," Young said on LinkedIn.
The dislike that employees feel when they see these kinds of content indicates that people are over the "performative professionalism," according to Ishkhanian.
"When our work vocabulary becomes robotic, our workplaces do too. This list is a reminder that clarity, humour, and honesty go a lot further than buzzwords ever could," she said.
